I’m a personal trainer and running like a dog made me crazy ripped

When it comes to working out, this guy prefers going doggy style.

An Indiana personal trainer claims that running on all fours like a dog every day for nearly a year has done wonders for his physical fitness — and he recommends that others follow his lead. Videos detailing the dog-walker’s unique form have amassed millions of views on TikTok.

“The idea of using the all-fours position was mine,” Nathaniel Nolan, 31, told SWNS. “I haven’t seen anybody else do it. I still live a completely normal life, but I set time aside to do this every day.”

Since last August, the Indianapolis native has spent at least 30 minutes every day walking and running on his hands and feet like man’s best friend, he claimed.

In one video from June with more than 21 million views, Nolan can be seen using his hands and feet to canter effortlessly across the grass as if about to transform into a werewolf. Another shows the martial arts enthusiast walking on his hands while holding dumbbells to help acclimate himself to moving like a mutt. He also frequently films himself doing “pooch-ups” in which he presses his body up and down while in a handstand position.

Note: “Dog-walking” shouldn’t be confused with “animal-style” workouts, which also employ body-weight exercises that require balancing on one’s hands.

Nolan said he started the pup-inspired workout routine after experiencing “wrist pain and chronic joint pain” from his regular regimen.

“I was getting to the point where I couldn’t train without pain,” the paw-erlifter recalled. “A lot of the stuff I do is high-intensity, so I wanted more exposure to low-intensity movements — and that’s why I started all-fours training.

“I want to be able to build up my mobility in my wrists, hands and elbows to continue working on things like handstands,” he added.

The exercise buff said he began by doing 60 seconds at a time, then added a minute each day before capping it at 30 minutes to prevent his dog cosplay from “getting out of hand.”

Now, on day 315 of walking like a dog, Nolan said his level of fitness has improved by literal leaps and bounds. He claims that his joint and back pain have dissipated to the point where he no longer needs wrist straps and joint supports during workouts, SWNS reported. In addition, Nolan says his physique has become much more well-defined, as evidenced in his videos, and that he hasn’t suffered any side effects aside from hand calluses.

While his canine locomotion initially tired him out, over time the gym shark’s paw patrols became less strenuous and more natural.

“I still can’t believe how much more smooth this looks and feels,” Nolan said in a video shot on day 300 of his dog-walking routine. “I think I’m really starting to get the hang of it.”

Naturally, the trainer’s im-paw-sonations garnered him more than a few trolly remarks on TikTok.

“Honey! the crazy neighbour’s freaky dog got loose again,” joked one TikTok wit, while another wrote, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. What’s wrong with the world?”

One wondered how freaky it would be to see Nolan “running at you full speed at night.”

However, many of the responses were positive, with one dog-walking fan writing, “can we hurry up and normalise this it looks so much fun.”

“I’m not gonna lie, this is actually great exercise,” gushed another. “Getting creative with work outs pays off in SOOO many different ways.”

“Idk what’s coming,” one supporter said. “But this man is training for it.”

Nolan, for one, said he couldn’t care less about what people think of his four-limbed training sessions.

“I’ve seen people on the internet talking about it, but I haven’t really given much thought to how it looks while I’m moving,” he explained. “If you were to live your life based on how people think something looks, then you’re going to be cornering yourself into a really small box.

“When I’m out in public, people don’t really care. If you want to get down and do some crawls in the park, nobody cares,” he added. “I don’t care, either.”

He also recommends that others follow suit.

“If you want to do something with your body, you should prepare your body for it. So if you want to get in shape and work out then you should definitely do this. Anybody can benefit from this,” he declared.

“It’s about knowing what you want to do with your body and then getting low-intensity versions of those things before jumping into push-ups for the first time,” added Nolan.

The dog trainer says he’s currently planning an exercise program and is developing “universal rules” that’ll allow anyone to walk like a dog.

No word as to whether Nolan will start donning a hyperrealistic Collie costume for his workouts à la this Japanese fur fan.